TNEB plans barge-mounted power plants

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) is pursuing a plan to bring in barge-mounted power plants to various parts of the State to tide over the present power crisis.

TNEB in the process of calling for tenders. The objective is to get these power plants connected to the grid in about two months, they said.

The tendering process is on. Sources said that TNEB would use furnace oil to fire these plants. It is estimated that the cost of generation will be Rs 11.60 a unit.

A few companies such as Alstom and Aggrego have barge-based power plants with capacity ranging from 1 MW up to 500 MW. However, TNEB would be sourcing plants, possibly from West Asia, with capacity of up to 2 MW each for a total capacity of 500 MW.

Power plants from these barges could be dismantled and installed close to the substations near windmills that are idle now. Higher-capacity barges would be easy to bring in but they need suitable substation to link the power to the grid, they said. Hence the electricity board prefers low-capacity barges, they said.

According to the Centre Electricity Authority’s report for September, several States in the country are facing power shortage, with Maharashtra suffering the highest shortage, of 5,200 MW.

Tamil Nadu’s power deficit is estimated at 1,178 MW.